How Human Activity Is Impacting The Coral Triangle

One of my goals for when we are on our trip is to write different styles. I also wanted to tie my writing into what I am doing and what my syndicate at school is doing back in New Zealand. When we went to the Aquarium in Singapore I took a bunch of photos and did some research. I then took that info and wrote it as an information report: 

Did you know that a baby turtles gender is determined by the temperature of the egg it hatches from?

In report you are going to learn all about how human activity is impacting the Coral Triangle. You will learn about what the Coral Triangle is, why human activity is a problem and finally you will learn what you can do to help.

What Is The Coral Triangle?

The Coral Triangle is a body of water that covers all of or parts of 6 whole countries including Singapore. It's the planet's richest centre of marine life and coral diversity. It contains 76% of the worlds coral species and over 6,000 different kinds of fish.

Why Is Human Activity A Problem?

One example of how human activity is negatively impacting the coral triangle, is that deforestation on the mainland is releasing silt into the water. There is so much silt in the water that it is smothering the breeding grounds of the Bumphead Parrotfish, one of the many species living in the reefs of the Coral Triangle. The Bumphead is also very important to the ecosystem because it helps to shape the coral and produce sand.

Another example is that global warming is heating up the water. This is a problem because when the coral gets to hot something happens to it called bleaching. Bleaching is where the coral loses its color and becomes vulnerable to death. This is a very serious problem because most of the species that live in the Coral Triangle feed on the coral and the ones that don't feed on the ones that do. Also once coral dies it can take hundreds of years to regrow. 

There is also 8 billion kilograms of plastic being released into the ocean every year. That's the weight of approximately 652,500 double decker buses. Each year 100,000 animals are threatened because of plastic pollution. There are two ways that plastic is endangering animals. One is that animals are getting entangled in the plastic. The second is that animals are dying of plastic poisoning when they ingest it.

How Can I Help?

There are a number of things you can do to help. First of all, you can say no to plastic straws. If these end up in the ocean(which they probably will) they will stay there, polluting the ocean for the next 200 years!

 You can also be conscious about what you are throwing away and try to reuse and recycle when possible.

 Another thing you can do is try to use environmentally friendly detergents and household cleaners. This helps because what you put down the drain is probably going to end up in the ocean.

You should also only buy ocean friendly products from the supermarket.

Now you know all about how how human activity is impacting the Coral Triangle. You know what the Coral Triangle is, why human activity is a problem and you also know what you can do to help.

For more information about how you can help visit this site:  http://guardiansofthesea.asociacionanse.org/